Manufacture of golf-balls.



No. 7oo,|54. V Patented may I3, |9112 r. ".mcHA-nns, MANUFACTUBE 0F GULF BALLS.

(Application maa nu. 17, 1902.)

um Model.)

UNITED STATES .ATENT QEEICE.

'FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, oEI-IAHTECED, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNCE To THE HEMrsI-IALL-MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ACCRPCEATICN CE NEW JERSEY.

n MANUFACTURE oFcoI F-BALLs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 700,154, dated may 1s, 1902. Application ilerl March 17,1902. Serial No. 98,556. (No model.)

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a'

citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in thehcounty of .Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin the Manufacture of Golf-Balls, of which the following is a specification. 1 1

This invention relates to balls such as used 1o in golf and other games; and its object is to produce'a ballwhich is capableof absorbing from an implement a great momentum and in which there is an improved and more uniform cooperative action between the several por- I5 tionsof theball.

In Patent No. 696,354, granted to me March 25, IQQZ, a'. hard casing is formed upon a springy'lli'ng, theflatte'r consisting of a rubv ber sphere expanded by gutta-perch'a, and the 2o casing being preferably made of'celluloid.l

'In said application the V'casing is illustrated as made in sections and while hot and plastic is compressed upon the core, causing the segments to weld, the'casing being hardened unz 5 der pressure and holding thecore under compression, so that the condition Yof thev yball, throughoutis'tense, thus augmenting its yeffectiveness. In finishing the ball according to said application the material of the casing 3o works into the bramble marks or-pits in the dies before the latter completely close, sothat during the final portion of the die-closing ac? tion the brambles of the casing are shifted, particularly at the equatoriall portion of 'the 3 5 ball, there being thus a tendency to draw and tear the casing. tMoreover, itis found difficult to properly closethe dies which compress1 the casing upon the previously-formedV core,

owing to the tendency of the casing materialto` 4o squeeze out'between the approaching edges of the` dies, thus forming a flash orv fin' andv tending to. interfere with the completion of the die action, especially if the dieismade in more than two parts. By my. present im# provements these difficultiesj'arel overcome,

and the necessity of always making a shellin .segmentsis avoided, and the expense .of production decreased.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is 5o a cross-section, and Fig. 2 a perspective, partlyv broken away, of one form' of a rubber casing- `duction of a ball.

blank. Fig. 3 illustrates a stage in the pro- Figs. 4. and 5 illustrate later stages. Fig. 6 is a iinished ball made in accordance with my present improvements and partly broken away, so as to exhibit itsproportion, leaving an air-space at Ebetween -Aand D. The latter may also havean openingB, re'gistering'with B.Y I place thev ball thus formed in a spherical chamber F, formed in almold consisting of opposing halves G and H, having registering dowels J and clamped together'by any suitable means. Each of said members G and H may have one-half of the chamber F, whichA is preferably somewhat larger than the guttaperch'a casing D.v The chamber is suitably figured, in this instance having bramble-pits F. Into'the openings BBf I insert the mouth of a funnel J', which is shown as penetrating into the hollow C', al`

though this is not important in all cases. By means of said funnel the interior C of the ball is placed in communication with a vessel or receptacle K, formed in the apparatus above the chamber' F, said receptacle preferably being round and having a closely-fitting plunger .Lg The Ablanks maybe formedwithout the openings B 'and B', and a pointed inj ectorV may be forced thereinto.

- f I placeinthe receptacle K quantity of material, preferably gutta-percha, which may by the action of heat be reduced to a plastic or iiuid condition, as at M, Fig. 4. This material ows down the funnel J into the hollow of the sphere A and drives out the air through a Vent N, which in this instance is illustrated as a groove formed in the side wall of the main openings B and'B and llying with- IDO out the funnel J. ln the portion Il of the mold there may be provided a vent O, communicating at P with the ball-vent N, so the air escaping from the ball may be conducted out of the apparatus. The fluid or plastic gutta-percha may therefore settle or be forced by the plunger L through the funnel J', so as to completely fill the interior of the sphere A, whereupon the vent O in the mold may be closed by a screw-plug Q, Fig. 5, the overflow of the material into or through said vent indicating to the workman that the hollow C has been filled. By means of suitable appliances the plunger L may be pressed still farther down, so as to force more of the filling material into the interior of the ball, causing the walls thereof to yield and expanding the casing until it not only fills the guttapercha casing D, but also causes the latter to expand until it completely fills the chamber F in the mold. The heat of the mold renders the gutta-percha casing plastic, and it works into the bralnble-marks in the mold, and thus becomes embossed, as at Figs. 5 and G. The

air may escape from the chamber through a vent R.

Suiiicient force may be applied to the plunger L to subject the entire ball to great pressure, thereby compactin g and improving the gutta-percha casing and subjecting the expanded rubber sphere to high compression. The gutta-percha or other filling material is allowed to pass from a liquid into a dry or hard condition while the plunger is still pressed down with great force, so that the expanded condition of both the rubber sphere and the gutta-percha casing is made perinanent, as indicated at Figs. 5 and 6, the core being closelyjoined to the rubber and the latter to the casing. The mold may then be taken apart and the ball removed, the funnel J' being withdrawn and the hole left thereby in the ball being filled with a gutta-percha or other plug S, Fig. 6.

During the described operation the guttapercha casing is expanded in all directions and caused to conform to the surface of the chamber F, and the brambles or other figures DL are gradually formed upon the periphery of the ball, and since there is no movement of the dies there is no tendency to tear any of the brambles from the casing, nor is the material of the casing itself likely to be torn or unduly thinned at any point. 0n the contrary, the pressure of the fluent mass is uniform in all directions throughout the interior of the casing, while owing to its elasticity the rubber tends to compensate for any unevenness or irregularity in the form of an'y of the parts. Since great pressure may be produced by said plunger, the casing may be thoroughly compacted, thereby conducing to its toughness, durability, and springy properties, which are of great value in golf-balls. By reason of the uent mass of gutta-percha being maintained at4 high pressure while the portion thereof within the casing,as well as the shell itself, cools or hardens the quality of the ball is improved. The core M differs from a gutta-percha core which is compressed by dies in that it is in a more nearly uniform condition throughout, while the gutta-percha of the casing is compacted in radial directions all over the ball,and hence possesses an evenness of texture not present in externallycompressed casings.

Preferably the gutta-percha in the receptacle K is kept hot, as well as under great pressure, during the hardening of all or the principal portion of the gutta-percha casing and also during the hardening of the major portion of the core, the latter cooling first at its exterior and then gradually hardening toward the center. By this means the core is not onlysolidified, but also put in a condition of permanent compression, in which condition it is held by the hardened gutta-pcrcha casing.

Not only is a ball thus produced extremely compact or solid, but it will also be understood that the casing D powerfully grips the filling and that the material of the ball from center to periphery is in an abnormal condition. The compressed core effectually maintains the casing in a true spherical form and immediately and powerfully resists distortion thereof by a blow and by reaction aids in speeding the ball when struck by an implement. Thus an extrcmelyactive and powerfulball is produced. Moreover, the ball is not unduly sensitive to a light touch from an implement, which renders it even more desirable for the game ofgolf. The original guttapercha blank D may be either jointed or seamless.

Modifications and variations may be resorted to within the scope of my invention.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. A process in producing playing-balls, consisting in inclosing a hollow sphere of rubbei` in a gutta-percha casing and then forcing a fiuent mass into said sphere.

2. A process in producing playing-balls, consisting in covering a yielding sphere with a casing of gutta-pereha, forcing a fluent mass into the interior of said sphere and hardening said mass to form a core.

A process in producing playing-balls, consisting in covering'a hollow sphere of soft rubber with a gutta-pereha casing, reducing material to a fiuent condition, forming it into said sphere so as to expand the latter, and causing said material toharden so as to form a core.

4. A process in producing playing-balls, consisting in incasing a soft-rubber envelop in gutta-percha, and expanding both envelop and casing by the injection of mobile material into the latter.

5. A process in producing playing-balls, consisting in providing a rubber sphere with a gutta-percha casing, injecting heated guttapereha into said envelop, and causing said injected gutta-percha to harden and form a core.

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6. A process in producing a playing-ball, consisting in providing .a highly yielding sphere with a casing of gutta-percha, heating said casing,inj ectin g plastic material into said sphere to an extent to expand both said sphere and said casing, confining said sphere during such injection so as to determine the shape of l the ball, and causing said injected material to harden and form a core. i

7. A process in producing a playing-ball, consisting in providing a hollow elastic sphere with a gutta-percha casing, forcing plastic material into said sphere to such an extent as to expand both said sphere and said casin g and cause said sphere to be compressed between said injected material and said casing, and maintaining the pressure upon said injected material until both the casing and the injected material harden.

8. A process in producing a playing-ball, consisting in incasing a rubber sphere with gutta-percha, placing the ball thus formed in a mold, heating the gatta-percha casing, and forcibly injecting mobile material into said sphere to an extent to compress the guttapercha casing and place said sphereunder compression between said injected material and said casing.

9. A process in producing a playing-ball, consisting in inclosing a hollow rubber sphere in a casing of gutta-percha, inclosing said casing in a larger mold, forcibly injecting lluent material into said sphere to an extent to expand both said sphere and said casing to the limits of the mold, and also to compress said sphere between said vinjected material and said casing, and hardening said casing and said injected material while the pressure upon the latter is maintained.

l0. A process in producing a playing-ball, consisting in loosely inclosing a hollow rubber sphere in a casing consisting at least partially of gutta-percha, inclosing said casing loosely in a larger mold, forcibly injecting heated gutta-percha into said sphere to an extent to expand both said sphere and said shell to the limits of said mold, and maintaining the pressure upon said gutta-percha casing until both the latter and said casing become hard. Y

v 1l. A process in producingr a playing-ball, consisting in forming a hollow soft-rubber sphere with a vent, incasing said sphere in a gutta-percha casing also provided with a venti inserting a funnel through said casing andinto said sphere, inclosing said casing in a larger mold, heating said casing, heating guttapercha, injecting said gutta-percha through said funnel into said sphere and forcing out the air through said vents, subjecting the gutta-percha to pressure to an extent to expand both said sphere and said casing to the limits of the mold, preventing the escape of gutta-percha through said vent during the application of pressurecausin g the gutta-percha and the gutta-percha casing both to harden while the pressure is maintained,withdrawing the funnel, and plugging the vents.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS;

Witnesses: l

B. C. STIOKNEY, JOHN O. SEIFERT. 

